MR MARK CUNLIFFE

Head, Defence Legal Division, Department of Defence.

Mark is Head of Defence Legal in the Department of Defence. In this role he is responsible for an integrated national in-house legal service staffed by ADF and APS personnel. This consists of a group of about 250 permanent staff and 430 Reserve Legal Officers, who serve in over 50 different sites, in Commands, bases and units across Australia, as well as overseas, including on deployment. Most permanent legal staff are ADF officers and most of the division’s members are located outside Canberra.

Mark was born in Sydney, educated in Sydney and Canberra and has an Arts/Law degree from the Australian National University. He worked as a journalist and as a solicitor in private legal practice, before joining the Australian Public Service in the Department of Social Security in 1978.

Mark has worked in the Departments of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Transport and Regional Development, the Australian Electoral Commission and the UK Home Office (on an exchange scheme from PM&C). He also spent a year as a judge’s associate.

Mark moved to the Department of Defence in June 2001, as First Assistant Secretary Organisational/Defence Improvement Division. After being seconded as the Deputy Head (and then the Head) of the ATSIC Review Secretariat (Dec 2002 – Oct 2003), Mark returned to Defence in late 2003, working on the Defence Legislation Review Project. He resumed as First Assistant Secretary Defence Improvement in early 2004 and gained responsibility for public affairs (and the merged Ministerial Services and Public Affairs Division) in February 2004, before being appointed to head the Defence Legal Division, in July 2004.

Mark is married to Hilary Penfold; they have 3 children, 2 sons and a daughter.

APCML HIGHLIGHTS

APCML aims to promote greater understanding of and increased respect for the Rule of Law in all aspects of military affairs both within the Australian Defence Force and amongst militaries in the Asia Pacific Region.

Latest News

Danish Ministry of Defence Military Manual

Denmark’s military manual on the international law relevant to Danish armed forces in international operations has recently been translated into English. The Manual provides the Danish Defence Force with a comprehensive perspective for understanding relevant obligations under international law when Danish soldiers participate in international operations. It includes chapters on: The International Military Operation; Overview […]

A new post on the Lawfare website summarises recent developments on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (“LAWS”) in the lead-up to the next UN Group of Experts meeting on 25 – 29 March 2019. The post provides a brief background to LAWS, details recent global developments, gives highlights from the last Group of Experts meeting in […]

In advance of International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March last week, ASPI published its monthly update on Women, Peace and Security (“WPS”), which features various news items of significance from around the world. In particular: Germany, in conjunction with other States, recently held an Arria-formula meeting at the UN to discuss accountability for sexual […]

A recent post on the ICRC’s Humanitarian Law & Policy blog by Helen Durham and Vanessa Murphy examines the requirement for equal treatment of women in the military. The authors analyse the relevant rules of IHL governing the treatment of female combatants, and identify three corresponding planning obligations for military medical services. In particular, they […]

In the lead-up to each Australian federal election, ASPI releases a special report containing essays which examine key strategic, defence and strategy challenges and offer policy recommendations. The 2019 report was launched last week on 26 February in Canberra, and is available below. It contains 30 short essays by authors such as Lisa Sharland, Peter […]

President Trump recently signed Space Policy Directive 4, which formally creates the previously announced US Space Force by endorsing the Department of Defense to submit a request to Congress for the creation of this new branch of the armed forces. A helpful analysis of this development is available from the Centre for Strategic and International […]

“The Imperative of Integrating a Gender Perspective into Military Operations”

A recent article for ASPI by Susan Hutchinson and Nathan Bradney considers Australia’s continuing work on its second National Action Plan for the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (“WPS”) agenda. In particular, the authors argue that Australia’s intelligence organisations need to take on a greater responsibility for implementing WPS: Relatedly, this New York […]

The updated Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) manual, prepared by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), has recently been published and is now available. The manual is designed for use by the NZDF, and provides the basis for the content of all NZDF LOAC training. It prescribes orders implementing New Zealand’s LOAC obligations, and provides […]

Sir Adam Roberts KCMG FBA on ‘Foundational Myths in the Laws of War: The 1863 Lieber Code, and the 1864 Geneva Convention’

Visiting MLS as the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law 2019 Sir Ninian Stephen Scholar, Sir Adam Roberts KCMG FBA Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford will give a public lecture on the topic ‘Foundational Myths in the Laws of War: The 1863 Lieber Code, and the 1864 Geneva Convention’ Date: […]

The APCML is pleased to announce that it is hosting a 2-day conference entitled Respecting Military Law. Dates: 12 & 13 March Where: University House, Woodward, Melbourne Law School, Level 10, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053 Register: click here Program: click here The purpose of the conference is for academics, researchers, and practitioners to […]